DBT DIME Game Can Help Address People-Pleasing

Publish date: 2024-05-14

Picture this scenario: Your phone pings with a text from a friend, asking if you can help them move on Saturday. You already have plans that day, and you don’t particularly feel like throwing out your back helping them haul their couch up three flights of stairs. For most people, handling this request entails shooting back a quick, “Sorry, I’m not available on Saturday!” and moving on. But if you’re a people-pleaser—meaning that you habitually put others’ needs and emotions before your own—this kind of request would throw you into a true emotional quagmire.

People-pleasing is fairly common: 49 percent of Americans (and 56 percent of women) self-identify as people-pleasers, according to an August 2022 poll by YouGov. And while this behavior comes off as just being “nice,” it can also result in difficulties in setting boundaries, burnout, or a lack of sense of self. (So…nothing good, really.)

“Think of [the DIME game] as the trusty compass that helps you navigate the often turbulent waters of expressing your needs with clarity.” —Ella Laniado, LMSW, LSW

Many different therapy modalities can help clients overcome people-pleasing and the underlying emotional issues associated with the behavior, including Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). This form of talk therapy is meant to help people learn how to manage and regulate intense emotions. While DBT was created specifically to help people with borderline personality disorder, many of the skills used within DBT treatment plans can be adapted for everyday situations—such as people-pleasing. Enter the DIME game: A DBT skill that allows you to ask for what you want, and confidently say no to what you can’t take on.

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By asking a series of yes or no questions, the DIME (Describe, Inquire, Make a Request, and Express yourself) game provides you with direct, actionable advice on how to handle interpersonal conflict. The game will not only tell you whether to ask for (or decline) a request, but it will also suggest a level of assertiveness to use while asking for what you want. And for people-pleasers, this game can be, well, a game-changer for setting boundaries.

What is the DIME game?

The DIME game is a DBT technique designed to help you identify what you want out of a particular conflict or request, so you can approach the conversation more confidently and assertively. Ella Laniado, LMSW, LSW, a licensed social worker who specializes in anxiety and OCD treatment, describes the DIME game as “a structured guide for approaching confrontations. Think of it as the trusty compass that helps you navigate the often turbulent waters of expressing your needs with clarity.”

The technique is currently making waves on social media because of its ability to quickly and decisively come to a conclusion on whether, and how assertively, you should ask for something or decline someone’s request. This can come in handy in socially sticky situations, like asking someone to borrow money or for a friend to take care of you when you’re sick.

The game begins with two simple questions: “Do I ask?” and “Do I say no?”.

If you are looking to ask for something, the quiz asks you a series of 10 yes or no questions:

If you are looking to decline someone’s request, the quiz asks you the same series of yes or no questions, but with you being the person being asked (instead of the person doing the asking).

The algorithm will then tally the number of yes and no responses to tell you whether you should ask (or decline), and how assertively you should ask (or decline). You might get an answer like, “Say you’d rather not, but do it gracefully,” for a situation like helping your friend move. If you’re wondering whether to ask your boss for a raise, you might get an answer like “Ask firmly; insist; negotiate; keep trying.” Ideally, this will allow you to communicate your request or refusal in a way that’s clear, healthy, and decisive.

If you’re interested in trying the DIME game yourself, here’s a great (free) website that allows you to go through the questions.

Why is the DIME game effective?

Let’s be clear: The DIME game is not at all the same as receiving full DBT treatment. But playing the DIME game can help foster some of the skills that are harnessed in DBT sessions. According to Laniado, the DIME game can be helpful in developing healthy communication, regulating emotions, and increasing clients’ tolerance for distress. She also suggests that the DIME game can provide “a roadmap for maintaining self-respect” while navigating conflict.

Laniado credits the game’s success to the fact that it’s applicable to nearly all conflicts, at nearly all ages. “I’ve played this game with children navigating the complexities of peer dynamics, teachers, or parents,” she says, “and I’ve seamlessly integrated it into sessions with adults grappling with confrontations in their personal and professional lives.” In other words, the DIME game is usually relevant and helpful to Laniado’s clients, regardless of their age or social situation.

This is because the questions are broad enough to be widely useful, but specific enough to deliver results. “By answering yes or no to specific questions,” says Colette Sachs, LMSW, associate therapist at Manhattan Wellness, “clients can develop awareness of their boundaries and practice expressing their needs in a controlled setting before facing similar situations in real life.” If you’re a people-pleaser, this practice is key to helping you understand what you want or need before you face the emotional pressure of someone else’s needs or issues. Regardless of whether you’re asking for a promotion at work, declining a friend’s plans, or navigating a breakup, the DIME game can not only provide clarity on what exactly you want out of a tough conversation, but how to present this within the conversation.

“By answering yes or no to specific questions, clients can develop awareness of their boundaries and practice expressing their needs in a controlled setting before facing similar situations in real life.” —Colette Sachs, LMSW

Laniado also mentions that the DIME game has helped her clients to describe situations objectively, be curious about another person’s perspective, and be clear and assertive when making requests. This can be incredibly helpful if you’re a people-pleaser and thus struggle to see past another person’s needs or emotions. Through the process of the DIME game, you can actively learn to check the facts while still being respectful of others’ time and capacity.

As mentioned earlier, the DIME game is also designed for you to understand, then communicate, your needs clearly and effectively. This skill can be particularly difficult for people-pleasers. “A people-pleaser will often chronically override their needs in order to meet others’ demands,” Carla Marie Manly, PhD, previously told Well+Good, often due to a desire to avoid conflict or receive validation.

Recall the earlier example about the friend asking for help with their move. A people-pleaser might automatically say “yes” to that ask without thinking through what they actually want or have time for. Having a framework like the DIME game, which gives you a chance to check in with yourself, can help you cut through the noise of what others want to get at the heart of what you want or need. You might realize, for example, that while it’s certainly valid of your friend to ask you to help them with their move, they haven’t provided any similar help for you recently—and that in the long run, you won’t regret not helping them this one time.

When should I not use the DIME game?

It’s clear that the DIME game is a useful, widely applicable tool for navigating conflict. But if you’re experiencing mental health or relational challenges that span beyond everyday people-pleasing, don’t just rely on the DIME game: Talk to your doctor or a mental health professional for more help and support. This is also true of abusive relationships—if you are a current survivor of intimate partner violence or emotional abuse, talking to a mental health professional is a much safer, more effective approach than using the DIME game on your own.

What are some other therapy skills that can help with people-pleasing?

If you’re looking to gain therapy skills that are similar to the DIME game, Sachs recommends considering the following (or asking your therapist for help trying these techniques):

Sachs notes that these particular exercises can build on individuals’ strengths to empower boundary setting and expressing needs—all vital skills that can help to stop (or slow) people-pleasing in its tracks. With time and practice, you’ll be saying no (and meaning it!) with confidence.

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